Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a multiple access technique in which data symbols are spread out over orthogonal and/or near orthogonal code sequences. Traditional CDMA encoding is a two step process in which a binary code is mapped to a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) symbol before a spreading sequence is applied. While traditional CDMA encoding can provide relatively high data rates, new techniques/mechanisms for achieving even higher data rates are needed to meet the ever-growing demands of next-generation wireless networks. Low density spreading (LDS) is a form of CDMA used for multiplexing different layers of data. LDS uses repetitions of the same symbol on layer-specific nonzero position in time or frequency. As an example, in LDS-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) a constellation point is repeated (with some possible phase rotations) over nonzero frequency tones of a LDS block. Sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is a generalization of LDS where a multidimensional codebook is used to spread data over tones without necessarily repeating symbols.